was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Martin began aggressive treatments and chemotherapy and the cancer went into remission. Martin returned to Purdue to finish his degree. After he graduated, Gene Keady hired Martin as an assistant coach in 2000. The Cuonzo Martin Challenge Award to help raise funds for cancer research was established in his honor and he has since been cancer-free. Coaching career Purdue After one year as an assistant coach at West Lafayette High School, Martin returned to Purdue in 2000 to be an assistant coach under his former coach Gene Keady and former teammate, Matt Painter. He helped the Boilers to an Elite Eight appearance and three NCAA Second Round appearances, along with an overall 153–129 record during his eight seasons on the Purdue bench. He was named associate head coach for the 2007–08 season. Missouri State After eight seasons at Purdue, Martin accepted the head coaching position at Missouri State University of the Missouri Valley Conference on March 25, 2008. He replaced Barry Hinson. After falling to Auburn in the season opener, Martin had his first head coaching win over Central Michigan on the road. Martin's Bears won their first game at their new JQH Arena home, beating Arkansas from the SEC. They wrapped up the pre-conference season with a 7–4 record. Martin's Bears headed into conference play with only 3 players appearing in every game, due to a number of injuries. They lost their first conference game in overtime against an undefeated Illinois State. His Bears finished the season with an 11–20 record. Following his first season as head coach, Martin's top 25 RPI-ranked Bears started the 2009–10 season with a 10–0 start. Missouri State averaged a 10+ margin in points per game coming into Missouri Valley Conference play. Cuonzo's squad finished seventh in conference play with a 20–12 record and accepted a bid to the CIT tournament, which they ended up winning to finish the season with a record of 24–12. In Coach Martin's third year at Missouri State, the team won their first regular season Missouri Valley Men's Basketball title and entered the Arch Madness conference tournament as the #1 seed. After reaching the finals, they lost to the Indiana State Sycamores. Although having an RPI of 44, the team was not selected as an at-large team to the 2011 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament. They accepted a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, beating